It is generally known that both healthy support of teeth (i.e. a high tooth-root length to tooth-crown height ratio), and an increased capacity to withstand occlusal forces (i.e. a high volume of alveolar bone capable of supporting a tooth root) are important factors in dental wellbeing. Unfortunately, dental trauma or orthodontic treatment (for example, wearing orthodontic braces) may cause shortening or “resorption” of tooth root and/or alveolar bone, thereby resulting in a major cause of tooth mobility and/or loss. For instance, in cases of tooth root resorption, where the tooth-root to tooth-crown ratio may be adversely affected, increased tooth mobility can be observed and splinting of the impacted “loose” teeth may be required. In addition, severe cases of root resorption may lead to tooth loss. In severe cases of alveolar bone resorption, where the volume and height of alveolar bone supporting the tooth root is greatly reduced, complete tooth loss may arise and the insertion of a dental implant may be required. Unfortunately, the body's efficacy of repairing tooth root resorption can depend upon the degree and extent (surface area) of damaged root, and can result in ankylosis where the bone attaches directly to the root surface. Further, implants for lost teeth prove difficult, particularly in circumstances where the implant must be inserted into the severely resorbed alveolar bone.
Several non-invasive therapeutic methods for healing dental tissue are known, such as, for example, techniques using electrical stimulation, pulsed electromagnetic field, or low intensity pulsed ultrasound. For instance, ultrasound devices have been used in an attempt to treat orthodontically-induced tooth root resorption in humans, to stimulate dental tissue formation and to enhance teeth eruption. It is known that the efficacy of ultrasound treatments may depend upon the pulse duration and intensity applied. Indeed, where suitable levels of ultrasound are applied, it is known that ultrasound pulses can be effective for enhancing dental tissue healing, and for treating declining tooth-root to tooth-crown ratio (known as the “tooth to root ratio problem”).
Current ultrasound devices, however, can be bulky or cumbersome, requiring that a dentist positions the device on a patient's tooth or an orthodontic bracket. Alternatively, some devices may need to be custom-made according to the specific dimensions of the patient's tooth crown in order to ensure positioning of the device on an individual tooth.
In addition to the foregoing application difficulties, typical ultrasound devices do not provide more than one ultrasound emitter (transducer), and thus may only emit ultrasound to a single tooth at a time, and from one direction. Attempts have been made to utilize ultrasound “trays”, which are capable of propagating ultrasound over a larger treatment area, however, such trays are often manufactured from a stiff material which can be uncomfortable for patients.
Current ultrasound devices, such as the “trays”, typically lack accurate control means for maintaining or adjusting the intensity of ultrasound being emitted, making it difficult to control the level of ultrasound that is applied to a treatment area. This lack of control further prevents the ability to monitor and regulate the amount of ultrasound applied to an individual tooth, and to selectively treat individual teeth or groups of teeth as desired. In addition to a lack of control, current devices also lack accurate feedback means for sensing or measuring the ultrasound received at the treatment area, including the amount (intensity) of transmitted waves that pass through the tooth or bone being treated. As such, even in circumstances where ultrasound emitters may be provided on both sides of a tooth simultaneously, interference would likely be created inside the bone or tooth, affecting treatment results and leading to unpredictable treatment outcomes.
Moreover, current ultrasound devices, lack the ability to monitor and measure the quality of contact (coupling) between ultrasound emitters and the dental tissue to be treated. This absence of a monitoring ability results in a user not knowing when the device is improperly positioned or not functioning properly.
Control and regulation of ultrasound emission, simultaneous feedback, and monitoring of ultrasound emission and the coupling of the emitters to dental tissue, may provide means of determining and varying the treatment protocol for individual patients depending upon the thickness/density/shape of their individual treatment area. It is known that different thicknesses will necessitate different propagation paths for the ultrasound waves, which can affect the intensity of the waves received at the treatment area due to internal interference and absorption.
Therefore, there is a need for an ultrasound device and method for use of ultrasound that is easy and comfortable for patients to use, and that provides improved control and regulation means (including feedback means) for delivering an effective and accurate intensity of ultrasound to specific treatment areas. Such a device or method for use of ultrasound may be applicable for a variety of dental treatments, including, but not limited to: improved jaw bone and alveolar bone remodeling; improved healing following oral surgery or dental implanting, acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement; acceleration of tooth root remodeling; repair of tooth root resorption; acceleration of repair to jaw and alveolar bone fractures due to wisdom teeth extraction; treatment of tooth sensitivity at the root or crown level; reduction of gingiva infections, and improved healing of gingivitis and periodontitis, including healing after gingival flap surgery (a procedure used to treat periodontitis) and reduce pain or inflammation associated with oral surgery.